Doublestone

With the vast majority of Copenhagen’s rock and metal gigs alternating between the same three or four venues, there is refreshment to be found in discovering an entirely new place like Lygtens Kro, which opened up for concerts last summer. The pub is only really suited for the most underground of artists, however, boasting no stage, poor lighting and a very basic sound system, and as such the concerts booked there are guaranteed to be raw and intimate, for better or worse. And those are exactly the words that best describe my first experience at this outlier of a venue.

Because of their secretive and exclusive character, livingroom shows enjoy a nigh mythical reputation amongst concert goers. And although I have never had the fortune to experience one myself, I suspect that their vibe rather resembles this cozy and jampacked gig in the backroom of the Lygtens Kro pub. Its protagonist is Doublestone — a ’70s revivalist, ‘Sabbath-school rock trio based here in Copenhagen — who are celebrating the official release of their sophomore album, “Devil’s Own/Djævlens egn”, ahead of its landing in stores the following day amidst a throng of friends and relatives and, as it appears, zero critics apart from the undersigned. The atmosphere is therefore quite convivial, allowing the band to treat this as a kind of public dress rehearsal before unleashing the record upon the masses and honestly, the lo-fi setup is probably the best way to experience Doublestone given their worship of all things retro.

Much to my surprise, the concert kicks off with not with the opening track to the new album, but with a pairing of “An Omen” and “Hand of Lucifer” taken from the trio’s 2013-EP. Both of these are solid cuts, but as the first piece of new material arrives in the shape of “War Machine” immediately after, their purpose seems to be reduced to underlining the leaps that Doublestone has taken in terms of their songwriting. With slick, Kadavar-esque riffs and booming choruses, it and the magnificent “Here Comes the Serpent” later on create lasting impressions like the EP never could and it seems that vocalist/guitarist Bo Blond is well aware of the fact — he introduces each of them by telling us, ”this one’s really good.”. The rest of the songs that the band airs off “Devil’s Own/Djævlens egn” are somewhat less striking but to counterbalance the process of letting them sink in, Doublestone has thankfully packed the best of their début album, “Wingmakers” into the setlist as well, with a heady rendition of “The Witch is Burning” in particular sending chills down my spine.

With no looming curfew to worry about, Bo and his compatriots — bassist Kristian Blond and drummer Mike James B. — manage to get through almost 60% of their entire repertoire, seeming to become lost in their own groove and, no doubt buoyed by the intimate setting and the crowd’s enthusiastic response, showing no signs of the rigidity and shyness that has been the band’s achilles heel on previous occasions. Doublestone remains an introverted bunch though and as a result, one needs to settle for a pretty unexpressive demeanour, with the odd bout of headbanging or an awkward joke constituting the only real semblances of showmanship. Indeed, for any fan of ‘70s rock and classic doom, Doublestone is an absolute pleasure to listen to but in order to find the recognition they deserve, they must find a way to translate all of that passion that underlies their music into a more captivating stage presence.